


Set Me Free (But Please Don't Bite)

by danteaxel (tamikotheneko)



Category: Hannibal (TV), NBC Hannibal
Genre: Alpha Hannibal, Feral, Feral Behavior, Flashbacks, M/M, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Will, Other, Pack Dynamics, Panic Attacks, Past Abuse, Repressed Memories, Self-Harm, but it's gonna be hot and kinky lemme tell you, except without the actual thing its just the dynamic no physical a/b/o stuff, i'll add tags for that then, the sex will come i promise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2016-02-15
Packaged: 2018-05-10 09:56:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5581372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tamikotheneko/pseuds/danteaxel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hannibal finds a loose dog and returns it to its home. For this act of good will, he gets more than he'd ever bargained for in the form of one ruined suit (so far) and one feral man.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hannibal Has Emotions

**Author's Note:**

> ahh yes, the terrible two have returned with more fics with questionable morals. we just really like puppy men okay its a problem. Anyway, warnings for the beginning of a panic attack in this chapter. I'll be posting warnings at the beginning of each chapter. Please enjoy our depravity! 
> 
> title from Troye Sivan's song Bite

Hannibal drove along the road, his thoughts lost in his next patient, who he was dreading meeting with. His attention was pulled back to the road as he heard a car horn and looked out to see a car swerve out of the way of a shaggy tan dog. The dog stood, unafraid of the many cars in front of it, looking up at Hannibal as he got out of his car. It backed away slightly when he approached, but allowed him to reach down and grab hold of its collar to find a name and address along with a phone number on the tag. Hannibal sighed and read the address, feeling a slight tug of empathy which was.. frightening to him as he rarely ever felt emotion. Probably against his better judgement, he hefted the dog into his car and headed off to the address.

 

Within an hour he reached a small, worn looking house surrounded by trees. It didn't seem as though anyone had come or gone for years, and Hannibal winced, thinking of the mud that would inevitably be speckling his car due to this trip. And god, the dog was stinking up his car. He would have to take it to be cleaned after this. He let the dog out of the car, and it ran towards the house excitedly. Hannibal got out and followed apprehensively. He trekked to the door and found it open, and began to worry that the dog’s owner had died, or was hurt and needed help. He stepped inside tentatively and found a mess upon nearly every surface, dirt and grime as well as a thin layer of dust on everything, and then wrinkled his nose at the intense smell. Dogs were everywhere and no owner was in sight.

 

Suddenly a naked man, hunched and defensive, came into view. He ran forward to greet the dog, then saw Hannibal standing there and immediately backed away, growling low in his throat.

Hannibal held out his hands in a supplicating and non threatening gesture and made a low shushing noise in an effort to calm the obviously feral man. The man who once went by the name Will dropped into a crouch, ready to run if his adversary made a wrong move. Hannibal smelled like something he used to know he thought, but he could not seem to place it. In his peripherals he saw his pack move to stand defensively around him. He looked the well dressed man in front of him up and down, sizing him up.

 

Hannibal slowly crouched down so he was at eye level with the frightened pup of a man in front of him, held out his hand and blinked his eyes slowly. He had only had a cat when he was younger, and had learned that when a human blinks slowly at an animal, it was a sign of trust. Hannibal just hoped it applied to dogs as well as cats.

The feral man growled at the opponent who dared to make eye contact with him. Didn't he know that if he was going to present a challenge with direct eye contact he shouldn't try to take on an entire pack? Then he hesitated. The man smelled nothing like an aggressor. He smelled calm. His heartbeat was almost steady too. His pose presented no challenge. Immediately he relaxed, not dropping from his stance but becoming visibly less tense. He leaned forward to better smell the man in front of him. He smelled like carefully applied chemicals that mimicked musk, which Will wrinkled his nose at, but underneath there as a warm, dark scent. Something that smelled powerful, but safe. The man smelled strongly of alpha. He dipped his head in submission.

 

Hannibal moved his hand, palm up, slowly closer to the man, who had dipped his curly head down to him. Once he gained the trust of this man, he assumed he would be able to get the pack to disperse, and he could start cleaning up, and possibly coax some information out of the feral human. Sensing the change in the man's position, Will glanced up through his wild curls to see Hannibal's hand positioned above his head. Cautiously, he tilted his head to touch Hannibal's palm, giving permission to touch him. He knew upon the man's gentle touch that nothing would be done to hurt him. This man felt gentle and careful. Will knew somewhere in a long unused part of his head that he appreciated these qualities very much. He retracted his head long enough to signal to his pack to stand down. They immediately sat, warily watching the man who had invaded their home, but no longer on full alert.

 

Hannibal smiled softly as he gently pet the man’s head, cautiously untangling some of the larger knots that his fingers encountered. He sat down in front of the man, mourning the inevitable loss of his suit briefly, and let a strange sense of relief come over him as the stranger seemed to have relaxed slightly in his presence. His goal now was to coax the dirty man closer to him, so he could grab him by the scruff and drag him into a bath to get clean. Hannibal made up his mind. He would get this man back into working condition. After all, he was more interesting than his next patient... and a great deal more beautiful.

 

Will slowly relaxed into the touches of the stranger. It had been a very long time since he had been touched this gently. He did not realize exactly how much he was enjoying it until he heard a small chuckle from above him and he realized he was nearly in the man's lap, trying to get more touch. He shrank back a bit, but no violence came, even though he had left an obvious dirt mark on the man's pant leg. Will nosed at Hannibal's hand then, hoping he could get the man to return to petting his hair. Hannibal only chuckled a bit more at that. The young man was very cute when he wasn't defending his territory. He pet the curly head a tad more, letting his hand drift gently towards the back of the man’s neck, hoping his sudden movement would be a surprise, and that the feral wouldn't bite.

 

Will certainly felt Hannibal's hand moving, but it simply felt too good to worry about it, and all concept of bad things happening had melted completely out of Will's mind the second Hannibal's warm hand made contact with him. Everything about the man radiated safety to him now. Will had always been very black and white, though he couldn't remember it now, but since joining his pack fully it had only been reinforced that there was no grey for him. Hannibal was unequivocally Good.

 

Hannibal sensed the feral man’s complete relaxation, and quickly grabbed the man by the scruff of his neck, standing and heading in what he assumed was the direction of the bathroom, ignoring the man’s halfhearted thrashing and baring his teeth at one of the dogs who growled at him. Will only managed to fight back a little before slumping in defeat. He had been silly to assume that the man would be Good. He couldn't even remember the last time anyone had really been Good. What would the man do? He just hoped it wouldn't hurt too much. 

 

He was dragged into the bathroom, which had long fallen into disuse. Will slouched in a betrayed ball against the cupboard and stared darkly up at the alpha man who towered above him. Strangely, he didn't smell or seem any less calm and gentle. Hannibal felt slightly bad for the little feral man, but he was not going to let the small one into his car, or anywhere near him if he didn't get reasonably clean. Hannibal decided to speak softly and explain what he was going to do. He once again crouched to Will’s level and pet his head softly. 

 

"My name is Doctor Hannibal Lecter. I’m going to take care of you until you are no longer in this feral state. I am going to put you in a bath, and then get you into some clean clothes."

 

Will blinked up at him. He had understood the majority of what was said, his speech having fallen out of use far before his understanding of it. He scrunched his nose thoughtfully, and then dipped his head. He felt bad for disbelieving the man's Goodness so quickly. Hannibal took the dip in the head as an affirmative, and scratched behind his ear slightly.

 

"Before I turn on the water, would you please tell me your name?"

 

Will let out the yip that had come to be his name among his pack, before he realized Hannibal would not understand that. He reached into the depths of his mind and thought hard, frowning. He couldn't remember much in the way of his own personal details. For some reason that had not bothered him before. He knew it started with a W. 

 

"W... wwww." 

 

He stopped and growled, frustrated at himself. He hadn't spoken in ages. But shouldn't his name have been the easiest thing to say?

 

Hannibal hummed thoughtfully. "Something that starts with a W then. Would you please think harder for me?"

 

Nearly grimacing, Will racked his brain. "Www. Will. Will Graham." Once the first name had come, it had popped fully formed into his brain as though he had never forgotten it. How could he have forgotten something that seemed so deeply rooted in his mind? Will pushed that thought away. "Will Graham," he repeated triumphantly.

 

Hannibal smiled. "That's very good Will. Now, let’s get you cleaned up shall we?"

 

WIll beamed at the praise. He wasn't sure what 'getting cleaned up' entailed, but he knew he had done well in Hannibal's view and that the man wouldn't hurt him. He allowed himself to be handled into the tub and only got a little nervous when water began to flow from the wall. He did find he liked the feeling of the warm water lapping at his legs. There was something nice about the way it soothed him. He hummed contentedly and looked over at Hannibal, who was now reaching for a bottle. Hannibal smiled fondly at Wills compliance and squeezed some shampoo out into his hand, noting its chemical undertones and making a mental note to get some of his own shampoo for Will to use. He lathered up his hands before running them through Will’s hair, balking at the dirt and grime that came off on his fingers. He resigned himself to many washes of Will’s hair and body.

Will at first grimaced at the smell of the chemicals that Hannibal was putting into his hair, but the fingers running through his ratty hair made him close his eyes in pleasure. He didn't think he'd ever felt anything that lovely in his life. Will whined as Hannibal's fingers massaged his scalp, working through his hair. He began to wonder why he wasn't doing this every day. Then he was suddenly reminded as an ungodly sting in his eyes made him howl. Hannibal simply shushed him quickly and ran some clean water in his eyes, his fingers lingering some over the sharp contours of Will’s face before dunking water over Will’s now clean hair and body. He looked around for a razor, and found a relatively clean one, lathering up Will’s very bushy beard with soap and beginning to get some of the mess off of the man’s face

 

Will felt Hannibal's deft fingers moving over his face, calming him. He had easily quelled the burn in Will's eyes, and Will came to the conclusion that Hannibal must be able to fix everything. He was Good, after all. Will let his now reddened eyes drift close as he felt Hannibal move over his face, gently moving him now and again to get a better angle. He lost track of time, sitting in the warm water.

 

Once the beard was completely disposed of, and only controlled stubble remained, Hannibal deemed Will finally clean, and guided him up to wrap him in a fluffy towel. He picked up the sopping wet man and gently laid him down on the bed in his bedroom, before searching for clean clothes while Will laid contentedly on the bed, feeling cleaner than he had in ages. He stretched, luxuriating in the feeling. He had long since dragged the blankets off the bed to lay on the ground with his pack, and had not used the bed in years. He'd forgotten how nice it felt. Will made no move for modesty, preferring to let the fluffy towel lay beneath him and collect the water that ran from his body in rivulets. He had not worn clothes in years either. He and his pack had no need for them. When Hannibal stood beside the bed with some of Will's old clothing, he looked in bewilderment up at the fabric in his hands from where he lay sprawled on the bed. 

 

Hannibal blessed his strong patience and genetic luck that prevented him from flushing as he surveyed the man laying out with no modesty in front of him and held out Will’s clothes, a white t-shirt and a pair of ragged jeans. 

 

"Please, put these on, Will. You will only get dirty again if you wear nothing."

 

Will huffed. Putting on clothes didn't sound very appealing. Besides, getting dirty would mean he would get to smell like himself again. He smelled only like chemicals currently, and it was sure to scare his pack. He scrunched his nose and growled at the clothes. Hannibal barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and simply offered the clothes once more.

 

Giving in to the obvious annoyance of the alpha male, Will sheepishly took the clothing and began puzzling over it. Within minutes he had gotten the shirt on, but pants were proving to be much more difficult. Hannibal chuckled slightly and helped Will into the pants with only slight fumbling. Once he was dressed, Hannibal gave Will a once over and smiled gently. 

 

“You are almost presentable.”

 

Will blinked. He didn't really know what Hannibal was trying to say to him, but the tone was positive, and that was enough to make Will smile widely. He ducked his head and cautiously leaned in, nudging with his forehead and nose at Hannibal's jaw. His pack often did it as a show of affection and closeness, but obviously whatever pack Hannibal came from must not have, because he seemed very confused. Hannibal tensed slightly but relaxed as Will was obviously trying to show him some sort of affection. He comfortingly rubbed Will’s back and head. Hannibal held Will close and tried speaking to him again,

 

"Will, I'd like you to try and speak more. Possibly try to tell me how you ended up like this?"

 

Will whined into Hannibal's neck. He hadn't really liked speaking last time, it had rasped his throat and felt strange and foreign. Still, Hannibal had asked him to try, so Will buried his face in Hannibal's broad shoulder like he would with the side of any dog in his pack, and managed to come up with a few words. 

 

"Don't know. Dunno before the pack." 

 

It was true, he could remember nothing beyond when he had joined the pack a few years ago. He had a flash of memory sometimes on stormy nights, a vision of a muddy field with trees scattered about and in the trees, things hung. The smell of rotting meat accompanied it like an unwelcome guest, and Will always woke fighting for air. He didn't think he had the words to tell Hannibal that though, so he let the words hang in the air.

 

Hannibal held will very close and nuzzled Will’s ear, hoping that will would recognize the affection, as it was somewhat canine. 

 

"Thank you, Will, for trying. We will work on your speech in the coming days."

 

Will hummed happily as Hannibal nuzzled him. He knew more unwelcome speech would be sure to follow, but the approval of the alpha was important enough to override Will's discomfort with speaking. Will breathed in the musky scent that had long since overpowered the chemical smell Hannibal had applied, reveling in the smell. He hoped that Hannibal would be his alpha. It would be nice to have someone like him as the alpha, as much as he loved his pack. Maybe Hannibal would stay in his den and sleep with him and the pack and pet him every day and... Will was getting ahead of himself. He knew chances were high Hannibal wouldn't want to stay here in his den, let alone sleep with the pack. He didn't seem the type. Maybe, Will realized, maybe he wouldn't even want to stay with Will in general. Maybe this was it, and Hannibal would be gone. Will immediately felt himself tense.

Hannibal hummed and scratched Will’s damp head gently, trying to soothe his nerves with touch.

 

"You think incredibly hard for someone who does not speak." 

 

Will muffled an anxious whine in Hannibal's shoulder. His hand slowly rose to grasp at the hem of Hannibal's suit jacket, subtly giving Will another point of contact, another lifeline. He breathed slowly, trying to calm himself through the onset of panic. He didn't want to be left. Hannibal was Good. He was alpha. He couldn't leave, Will tried to reason with himself.

 

"I will not leave you Will. You are in need of help, and guidance. I will stay as long as you desire." 

 

Hannibal smoothed the stray curls on the back of Will’s head. Finally, with that statement, Will was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Hannibal had said he wasn't going away. He was going to stay. Maybe he would even be Will's alpha. Will felt exhaustion overtake him, the stress of the day's events finally catching up to him. He closed his eyes and rested heavily against Hannibal's shoulder. 

 

"Mm. Alpha." 

 

The words slipped from his mouth and he couldn't have cared less. Hannibal was Good and alpha. 

 


	2. Blurred Focus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will becomes better at talking, but at the cost of a repressed memory coming to light. Our Hannibal pieces it together from there, and his identity is fully revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning in this chapter for flashbacks, panic attacks, and past abuse. 
> 
> Honestly this is all dante's fault. He had to fight to get to cas let him hurt another character, so he's sort of taking advantage of it. sorry not sorry. I love my smol c(s)innamon rolls to be in pain.

Will sighed when Hannibal shifted away from him. He knew it had been uncomfortable for Hannibal to hold the position so Will could drape himself over his shoulder, but he still missed the contact. He tugged awkwardly at his own shirt, unused to the feeling of fabric. Suddenly, his stomach growled.

 

Hannibal chuckled, "I will make you something to eat, Will.”

 

Will made a questioning sound in the back of his throat. Make? Did Hannibal intend to hunt for dinner instead of him and the pack? He hadn't thought Hannibal the type to do that. 

 

"Hunt?" He managed to ask.

 

Hannibal hummed softly. "Not hunting little one, just cooking food for you and the dogs. I suppose I'll have to go out for food though."

 

Will frowned in distress at the word 'go'. 

 

"No, no go." He grabbed onto Hannibal's jacket hem again and scrunched his nose. "No."

 

Hannibal frowned slightly. "Do you have food here William?'

 

Will slowly shook his head. He and the pack never kept food. They hunted for each meal.

 

"Then I’m going to have to go out for food, little William." Hannibal was frankly more than concerned about leaving Will alone, but it seemed necessary. He couldn't take Will out into the open just yet.

 

Will whined desperately. trying to find any way to keep Hannibal from having to go. 

 

"Nnn. Stay," he begged.

 

Hannibal gently held Will in his arms for a moment.

 

"You have my apologies, Will, but I must go out and get food. I cannot take you with me. You are not ready to go out into the world just yet. The dogs will take care of you while I’m gone." 

 

Sensing Will’s growing distress, Hannibal sighed and pulled of his watch, noting it was 5:00. He handed the watch over to Will and buckled it around his thin wrist. 

 

"William, do you see where the big hand and the little hand are?"

 

Will stared at the thing around his wrist and shook it a little. He nodded. 

 

“Good. when the big and the little hand are both facing down, I will be back, do you understand?"

 

Will nodded and examined the hands of the watch. It seemed like that was not very far away at all. He could do that. Hannibal smiled and pet Will’s hair again. 

 

"I’ll be back soon.'

 

Will frowned down at the watch and refused to look at Hannibal. He didn't know how long he'd be gone, but it would be too long.

 

"I promise I won’t be gone very long, and then you and your pack get to eat something good hm?'

 

Will nodded forlornly. "Safe." 

 

He had a vague thought that he was supposed to tell people that before they left so they'd be sure to come back.

 

Hannibal nodded and scratched will behind the ear once more. 

 

"I promise I'll come back Will."

 

Will simply nodded in response. He hoped Hannibal wasn't lying.

 

~

 

Hannibal parked outside of the dilapidated house and pulled a considerable amount of bags  from his car. Inside were clothes, cleaning supplies, food, and body wash. He came up to the door and let himself in.

 

Will leapt up from his place on the floor as he saw the knob turn. He practically vibrated with happiness at seeing Hannibal again. 

 

"Hanninnn!!!" 

 

The name emerged strangled and partially formed by his rusty vocal chords. He rushed forward and nuzzled at the man's neck once more. 

 

Hannibal almost dropped his bags as he was rushed by the young man, but he quickly balanced and chuckled as he nuzzled Will’s ear and said ‘Hello William.”

 

"Hanninnnnnn. Hanninann." Will rubbed against Hannibal affectionately, determined to scent mark him before he ever left again. That would be his safeguard.

 

"Hannibal, Will. My name is Hannibal.” Hannibal gently corrected Will, amused at the scent marking the man was so exuberantly engaging in.

 

"Hanninann. Hannibaninn." Will babbled things that sounded vaguely like Hannibal's name as he continued to scent mark the man. FInally his stomach grumbled loudly again and he remembered the point of Hannibal leaving. "Food?"

 

Had Hannibal been a more emotional person, he knew he would be on the verge of being overwhelmed with Will’s inadvertent cuteness. 

“I brought enough food to keep us stocked for a couple of months while we work on getting you back to humanity. For now though, something simple for you.'

 

Will nodded, not really listening. He dropped to his haunches and looked through the bag, smelling nearly everything before putting it back in the bag.

 

Hannibal found himself resisting the urge to roll his eyes as he started on making simple butter pasta with grilled chicken.

 

Will stood and paced around the kitchen, watching the food preparation dubiously and sniffing the air as the smell grew. By the time the dinner was ready, the whole pack was sitting around the kitchen, watching Hannibal with varying levels of awe. 

 

Hannibal pulled out the many bowls he had bought and poured dog food in them before putting a strip of chicken on top of each one of them, and then put he and wills dinner on plates.

 

Will cocked his head. He didn't understand why his plate was different from the rest of the pack. He looked questioningly at Hannibal, unsure how to word the question.

 

Determined to make him speak more frequently, Hannibal questioned,

 

“Yes Will?”

 

"Food?" Will tried, and when that didn't seem to convey his meaning, he made another attempt. "Pack food," He pointed at the bowls of dog food with chicken. He then swung his gaze to the plates Hannibal had set out on the table. "Pack food?"

 

"You are a human William, not a dog. You must learn to eat off of a plate, not in a bowl like an animal.'

 

Will frowned, "Pack." He didn't understand why Hannibal was separating him from the rest of his pack. Sure, he didn't look the same, but that didn't make him any less family than any other pack member. "Pack," he whined, becoming desperate. "To. Together."

 

Hannibal sighed and pet wills hair again. “In some things you must be separate from your pack, Will. This is one of them.”

 

Will's face crumpled and his eyes filled with tears. 

 

"No. Pack. Need pack. Fa... family." He struggled, frustrated, to convince Hannibal just how important his bond with the pack was. He couldn't be separate. That wasn't right.

 

Hannibal knew he was pushing a bit too hard, but he had wanted to gauge how far Will was away from humanity. He sighed (he had been doing that a lot today) and conceded. 

 

“You may eat with your pack on the floor with them, but you must eat off of the plate.” Will sniffed, smiling happily up at Hannibal. 

 

"Thank, Hanninann." Strangely, the more he spoke, the more it seemed to return to him. Hannibal's name was still out of his reach, but he was recalling more and more basic words to communicate with the man.

 

He took his plate from the table and set it gently on the floor, positioning himself beside the chair that Hannibal would be sitting in. 

Hannibal smiled and decided to sit next to will on the floor. His suit was already ruined.

 

Will wiggled happily when Hannibal sat on the floor beside him. 

 

"Hanninban." He was getting closer, he thought. It wasn't an easy name to say by any means, and Will could barely manage the word together. Speaking was hard. Will was very impressed that Hannibal did it so well. 

 

Suddenly, another memory flashed into his head, one from much much farther back. He was in a rundown little house, the air hot and muggy. He felt so small and tense. A word came to the tip of his tongue, one he thought must be associated with times like this. "Amen? Amen, Hanniban?"

 

"A word you say at the end of a prayer little one.' Hannibal continued to be amazed and incredibly intrigued at wills thought process.

 

Will nodded thoughtfully. "Amen." He then reached down and picked up a handful of the buttery pasta Hannibal had made him, messily putting it into, and also all around, his mouth. He made a surprised sound and chewed quickly, swallowed, licked his lips, then his fingers. "Mmmmm," He hummed.

 

“Oh my sweet lord.” Hannibal thought desperately. His legendary patience almost snapping. Hannibal quickly stopped will from taking another bite and cleaned his face and fingers, before feeding Will himself from a fork. Like a decent human being with manners and-Hannibal stopped himself there.

 

Will happily took a bite from the fork and then took the utensil when it was offered to him, continuing unperturbed. He was far too amazed at the deliciousness of his meal to worry about the way Hannibal was looking on in horror. 

 

Once he had shoveled all of the noodles into his mouth, he sized up the chicken breast in front of him and stabbed it with the fork, then lifted the skewered meat to his mouth and savagely ripped a piece off with his teeth.

 

Hannibal was on the verge of tears. In his teenage days he would have slammed his head Into a wall, but he was an adult. So he let will eat, or his approximation of eating, and ate his own dinner.

 

Will finished his chicken quickly and hummed. "More?" Will thought of the nice, buttery noodles and felt his mouth fill with saliva. "More..." he realized he didn't have a name for what the food was. "That?" He pointed at the noodles still left on Hannibal's plate.

 

'Noodles William. And no, if you eat too much too quickly you'll get sick.'

 

Will frowned. "Want more." He didn't quite understand what Hannibal meant. Wasn't eating a good thing? the only time he felt sick was when he hadn't eaten. "Why not? Food. Good food."

 

Hannibal ran his fingers through Will’s hair gently "You are malnourished Will. If you eat too much of the good food, your stomach will hurt and you will most likely throw it all back up. Your recovery will be slow in this aspect I'm afraid.”

 

Will frowned. He thought he understood, but he still didn't like that he couldn't have more noodles. He hadn't had anything like them since he could remember. "Later? More later?" He queried.

 

“I suppose.” Hannibal was quickly learning that he had a hard time denying the beautiful creature anything.

 

Will smiled happily and wiggled again. "Thank, thank, Hanniba... Hannibal." He stuttered on the mouthful of a name but beamed in triumph upon saying it correctly for the first time.

 

"Good boy" Hannibal smiled at will and scratched his head.

 

Will bloomed under the praise. "Hannibal, hannibal," he chirped up at the man. 

 

Hannibal found himself chuckling softly and continued to pet Will’s head.

Will nuzzled into Hannibal's hand and hummed happily. He felt so content and sleepy, he nearly drifted off against Hannibal's palm.

 

'Wake up darling Will, drink some water, and then I'll put you to bed.' Hannibal lifted a glass of water up to Will’s lips. 

 

Will grumbled and drank the water, wanting more than anything to just lay with his pack. 

"Sleep," He insisted upon draining the glass. He hadn't had that much water at once in years either, and it flooded his throat with a lovely feeling. Will cleared his throat, feeling as though years of dust had been washed away from his vocal chords. "Sleep now, Hannibal. Tired," he tried again and found speaking to be much less painful.

 

"I know Will. Let's get you to bed.”

 

Will yawned, blinking his eyes, and curled on the grimy floor to sleep. His pack immediately padded to him and surrounded him, encasing him in a warm, furry circle. Within seconds he seemed to be comfortably dozing on the uneven, cold wood floors. Hannibal gaped.

 

Hannibal unceremoniously dragged wills bed from his room and into a warm corner in the living room. He then stood and picked will up in his arms, baring his teeth at any dog that growled at him before lowering will onto the bed, placing pillows and clean blankets around him.

 

Will barely opened his eyes at the movement, and simply stretched happily, feeling the mattress under him. "mmm, Hannibal. Sleep." He reached up drowsily, tugging at Hannibal's sleeve. "Pack sleeps together." Something seemed to click in his mind then. "Pack? Pack sleeps together, Hannibal." He looked in concern across the living room to where the dogs sat in the kitchen, too wary of Hannibal to approach closer.

 

Resigning himself to sleep not only on the floor, but also to sleeping with a bunch of dogs, Hannibal whistled for the dogs to Come over after he had laid down beside Will.

 

Will sighed happily as he was once again surrounded by dogs. "Pack," he mumbled, inching closer to Hannibal in what he thought was a subtle attempt to sleep bodies pressed together as the pack did.

 

Hannibal noticed the not so subtle movements and chuckled. 'Goodnight William.'

 

Will shifted ever closer, giving up on subtlety and preferring to just slide his body over until he and Hannibal were touching from shoulder to knee. "Good... night, Hannibal. Goodnight." He tucked his head under Hannibal's chin, burrowing into the warmth. Will was now surrounded on all sides by warm bodies, and he always felt safest like that.

He hummed his contentedness into Hannibal's shoulder, slipping an arm quietly over Hannibal's chest.

  
  


~

 

Will woke to the smell of food and the feeling of his pack around him. He stretched and sighed happily, yawning. 

 

"Hannibal?" He sat up to see Hannibal was still there, standing in the kitchen. He smiled and stood, a little wobbly on his feet. "Hungry. Food?" He approached to see Hannibal was just dishing up something equally as delicious looking as last night's food.

 

“Protein scramble. The food for the dogs is already dished out.” Hannibal held out the plate for Will, and smiled fondly at him before petting his hair gently.

 

Will happily took the plate and grabbed a fork from the counter, using it as a shovel to messily scrape food into his mouth. 

 

"Good!" He exclaimed. 

 

Minutes passed before Will seemed to finally notice Hannibal's pained expression watching him eat, and he reached out with the hand not holding the fork to lay a hand on Hannibal's cheek. 

 

"Okay?" he asked, his brow crinkling.

 

Hannibal kissed the palm of Will’s hand gently. 

 

“We'll work on your manners today I think.”

 

Will nodded, not sure what exactly Hannibal meant, but knowing he didn't sound anxious or urgent. He returned to shoving food into his mouth, getting it around the corners of his mouth and on his chin in the process.

 

"Good, Hannibal," he offered, smiling over at the other man. "Manners?"

 

Hannibal grimaced and wiped Will’s face off with a napkin. 

 

“Manners. One of them being teaching you how to eat properly little one.”

 

Will obediently allowed his face to be wiped. He didn't understand how there could be a proper and improper way to eat... Eating was eating, wasn't it? Still, Hannibal seemed to have very specific ideas of what was right and wrong, so Will simply nodded and looked expectantly at Hannibal for instruction.

 

Hannibal simply scratched behind Will’s ear gently.

 

“When you eat, you mustn't get it all over your mouth and chin. Which means you must be careful, and not just shovel food into your mouth. Do you understand, Will?”

 

Will considered Hannibal's words and nodded slowly. 

 

"Careful. Eat slow?" He offered.

 

“Exactly.”

 

Hannibal pat Will’s head and ran his fingers through the man’s curls with a smile.

 

Will smiled back up at him. "Okay." He nodded. Will loved how Hannibal smiled at him, loved the feeling of having done something good for the alpha. "Alpha makes rules."

 

Hannibal hummed once more. “I suppose I shall let you keep thinking that, especially if it gets you to comply so easily.”

 

Will frowned. He poked Hannibal's chest. 

 

"Alpha." He said seriously. Did Hannibal not know how obviously alpha he was? he smelled of it, his every move radiated alpha. He had to know. Why didn't he sound like he agreed?

 

“I understand, Will. I am an alpha in your mind. In other people’s minds I am merely a powerful man.” Hannibal smoothed his hands over Will’s arms with a reassuring hum.

 

Will sighed. There seemed to be no way to make Hannibal understand what he meant. There was an inherent difference between an alpha and a powerful man, one that was learned when you joined a pack. Powerful men could be turned down, alphas could not. Powerful men commanded respect, sure. But alphas were just different.

 

"More," he said helplessly, trying to tell Hannibal what he meant. "More to alpha. More you."

 

Hannibal quirked a smile. “Alright Will. I am your Alpha.”

 

Sighing hopelessly, Will shook his head. He knew Hannibal was humoring him, of course. He gave up, deciding to just allow Hannibal to teach him instead of making an attempt at the other way around. Hannibal got back to the task at hand. 

 

“Since it seems we have mastered the art of careful eating, we will continue our work in speech. Does that sound acceptable?”

 

Will nodded, then adjusted his answer, "Yes." 

 

He frowned deeply. His throat was back to rasping whenever he spoke, it seemed. 

 

"Ow," he winced as the syllable scraped as his throat.

 

Hannibal grimaced, and poured Will a glass of water before handing it to him and watching in amusement as Will gulped the glass down. 

 

“Six glasses of water a day will get your levels of hydration back to normal, and three meals a day will quickly dispense of the malnourished look you are currently sporting.”

 

_ ‘Which distresses me greatly,’  _ Hannibal thought, but kept to himself.

 

Will handed the empty glass back to Hannibal. 

 

"More? Yes?" He loved the taste of clean water. Usually the pack drank from the river, but the water there was murky and gritty. This water was clear and cold and  almost sweet.

 

“You may have another glass, but please sip it this time, Will. You will end up with an upset stomach if you insist on gulping water.”

 

Will nodded and refilled the glass before taking one big gulp and then sipping the rest of the glass. He hummed experimentally and found the rasp in his voice was gone. 

 

"Good." He smiled at Hannibal. "More manners?"

 

“More speech. or today. Your manners can come later.”

 

Will sat on his haunches on the couch. "Talking?" He prompted Hannibal to start whatever lesson he had in mind.

 

Hannibal gently maneuvered Will to match his seated position before speaking gently.

 

“I'd like you to try to remember something else before the pack Will.” Hannibal gauged his reaction to the question carefully. He did not want to push too hard, but he had to know if his hunch for who Will could be was correct.      

  
  


_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

 

_ FBI Facility, Quantico, 2 years prior _

 

_ Hannibal stepped into the room, and was greeted by a stocky African American male, whose nametag read ‘Jack Crawford.’  _

_ Alongside him stood a lanky man, skittish and shy by his posture alone, with brown curly hair and wide blue eyes hidden behind square glasses. _

_ ‘Doctor Lecter, I presume. My name is Jack Crawford, and this is William Graham.” _

  
  


_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` _

  
  


Will pursed his lips. "Nothing." Truthfully, he didn't want to remember anything else, if there even was anything before the pack. "Pack is all. Pack is Good."

 

Hannibal sighed. “Please William, try harder.”

 

Hearing the annoyance in Hannibal's tone, Will hunched in on himself. "Nothing," He insisted, his voice growing quieter and meeker as he repeated, "Only pack. Only pack."

 

“Will, please. I know there is something you do not want to remember. But you will only hurt yourself more by repressing it.”

 

By this point Will was hunched with his knees to his chest and his forehead rested on his knees. From where he hid his face there came a muffled 

 

"No, Hannibal. No. Nothing else." He knew Hannibal would be upset by his disobedience, but whatever hid in his mind was worse to him. Hannibal slid closer to Will and wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulder and rubbed his back. He decided to press once more, firmly this time. 

 

“Tell me William. What lies behind the wall in your mind?”

 

When Hannibal spoke so firmly, sounding so close to dropping all pretenses of being gentle, Will flinched and felt his entire body tense. Tremors seemed to come from his core, unable to be stopped. 

 

"Don't." Tears filled his eyes and he whimpered into his arms. "Jack, no. Didn't mean..."

 

Behind his eyes a large, dark hand swung toward his face and an angry yell echoed in his ears. Will shot off the couch and tripped over the mattress, stumbling and falling heavily to the floor. "PLEASE!" He nearly howled at the empty air, frantically tucking his head and flailing his arms and legs to fend off an unseen force. 

 

' _ I knew it would happen again.”  _ he thought, not even sure what was happening now and what was a memory. He was lost, adrift. ' _ I knew he would get angry again and not let me off so easy like last time.’ _

 

Hannibal startled and rushed over to Will on the floor, picking the crying man up and rocking him in his arms, holding him close to his chest.

 

' _ Perhaps I pushed a bit too far’ _

 

Hannibal mused, stroking Will’s hair comfortingly and singing a soft melody in his native Lithuanian tongue. 

 

With the mention of Jack, the picture became crystal clear. The man he held in his arms was once noted special FBI agent Will Graham, who had disappeared after a mental break from seeing one too many violent crime scenes. He possessed pure empathy, and his impressive mind had been abused by Jack Crawford until he snapped.

 

Will shied away from Hannibal's touch, only feeling burning hot fingertips and too close touch. Too much, too much... 

 

"Too much please I can't..." Will's face crumpled and he balled his hands into fists, weakly pushing against Hannibal's grip. "Please, fuck. Stop, please." He heard screaming, an angry voice bellowing, and from somewhere outside his own body he heard himself crying. "Hannibal? Hannibal save... I can't..." He fisted his hands in Hannibal's shirtsleeves and sobbed.

Hannibal just kept the man close and and kept humming quietly in an effort to calm him.

slowly but surely, Will calmed. The yells faded from his mind and were replaced with gentle humming, his tears subsided into hiccups and sniffles. "Jack," he said as if in explanation, blinking with watery eyes up at Hannibal.

 

“I now know who you are. I can explain your life before the pack for you, if you wish.” Hannibal smoothed the tears from Will’s face.

 

Will whimpered and shook his head. "Later... please? Later?" He curled closer into Hannibal and looked pleadingly up at him. "T... tonight?" he suggested in hopes that it would give him enough time to calm down.

 

“Yes, of course, Will. Your speech has become less stilted little one. I am glad, you have done well.” He smoothed Will’s hair back and pet him comfortingly, humming softly as Will melted into him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dante's tumblr- comrade-bootyshort.tumblr.com
> 
> cas' tumblr- cunningandfulloftricks.tumblr.com


	3. Recollection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannibal coaxes Will's past out, and Will can no longer be blissfully ignorant. What these new memories will do to his fragile psyche remains to be seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for flashbacks, panic attacks, and thoughts of self harm. This is all Dante's fault, basically. Sorry it's a little shorter, Dante the asshole has school and stuff. Promise we will make it up next chapter.

 

By dinnertime, Will had successfully managed to push the morning's events from his mind. For a while after his flashback, he had been ridiculously jumpy, twitching when Hannibal touched him or talked to him and almost seeing Jack around every corner.  It took several hours before he was back to his off kilter version of normal. Still, he knew something unpleasant was going to happen, and that kept him restless. Even the delicious aroma of Hannibal's cooking could not calm him, nor could the pack, which followed him closely all day. They smelled Will's distress and crowded him in to protect him. 

 

Hannibal had just finished preparing a nice dinner consisting of fish and spinach for Will and himself, and had placed out the food for the other dogs when he felt a small tug on his shirtsleeve. He turned to find the other man lurking behind him, looking shy and only slightly less panicked than before.

 

"Hannibal," Will didn't meet his eyes as he spoke. "Remember means..." he once again struggled for a few seconds to pull the word he used to know from the depths of his brain. "Means I lose pack." He had been wondering if this was the case since his flashback that morning, and had been looking for the words to convey his concern since then. 

 

Hannibal straightened to his full height with a comforting smile.

 

"No Will. It simply means regaining yourself. The pack will still be there for you."

 

"Won't be the same," Will argued, panic flashing through his mind as he pictured the pack rejecting him once he knew his past. What if they sensed the change? What if he somehow wasn't good enough to be pack anymore?

 

Hannibal placed a hand on Will’s shoulder gently and said reassuringly, 

 

"A man once told me that a dog’s love never changes. Your pack will still be there, even after you become yourself again."

  
  


Will nodded, still not totally convinced. However, the meal's tempting smell had finally taken a hold on his mind, causing any other conversation to be a waste of time. He took his plate and went to go sit on the ground with his pack, avoiding acknowledging Hannibal at all in hopes that he would not initiate the conversation he knew was coming. After he had seen to it that Will had eaten all of his food and drunk a glass of water, Hannibal sighed internally and grabbed Will by the scruff of the neck again. carting him carefully over to the bed on the floor, where he could be comfortable and be surrounded by his dogs. Will didn't resist Hannibal's manhandling anymore, and merely curled around one of the smaller members of his pack and looked pitifully up at Hannibal. He knew this wouldn't be a fun night for either of them, and it was even worse since he didn't know exactly what was in store for him.

 

Hannibal sat in front of Will and covered the other man’s eyes with his hand, ignoring the small yelp Will gave at the loss of his vision. 

 

"William, I want you to keep your eyes closed, and I want you to relax. Loosen every muscle in your body until you are thinking of nothing else, and allow your past to return to you."

 

Will tried to comply, he really did. He closed his eyes, lay perfectly still and tried to relax every muscle in his body, and took deep breaths. Still, nothing came to him. He thought of his experience earlier, thought of that Jack person, that dark hand and the sense of panic, of the dark field that haunted his dreams. He felt an odd sense of responsibility, a crippling weight, fall upon him. He had not felt that sort of stressful sense of duty ever, as far back as he could remember. That meant it had to be the circumstances of his past that made him feel like that, Will thought. Other than that, he found nothing come to him. Will shook his head. 

 

"H...help?" He wasn't sure what Hannibal would deem most helpful, but whatever it was, it would undoubtedly work. Hannibal was alpha, he knew what he was doing. He simply placed his hand back over Will’s eyes and asked him calmly,

 

"Your name is William Graham. Do you remember a man named Jack Crawford, Will?"

 

Will nodded slowly, "Jack. Wants me to... to work for him. Hard work..." He felt a shiver run down his spine, and he shrunk in on himself against the memory of field after forest after house, all smelling of rotting flesh and blood. Hannibal smiled.  _ 'he’s starting to remember' _ he thought, before continuing on, deciding to bring up the circumstances of Will’s last case to help jog his memory.

 

"You remember a dark forest, things hanging in the trees don't you, Will?"

 

Nodding again, Will whimpered. He remembered what the things in his dreams were now... 

 

"Bodies," He whispered fearfully. "B-bodies," he repeated, beginning to shake.

 

“Do you remember what you were doing for Jack, little one?" Hannibal desperately wanted to reach out and comfort Will, but he didn't want to break his concentration.

 

"I... work... um, profile. Profiling?" Will's forehead creased as he felt the memories he had been repressing rush back to him. “God… I,” He began to shake in earnest then, sobs wracking his body as he remembered his job as an FBI profiler, seeing murder after murder, connecting with serial killers thought processes and tearing himself apart piece by piece with his own empathy. "I can't..."

 

Hannibal quickly gathered Will up and put him in his lap, hugging him tightly and rocking him back and forth gently. Interruption to WIll’s memory or not, the man needed it and Hannibal was loathe to admit it but he needed to hold Will nearly as badly.

 

"Hannibal..." Will curled into Hannibal's chest and felt his past wash over him in waves, drowning him. "Can't..." He began to hyperventilate, feeling his chest constrict. Will fisted his hands in Hannibal's shirt and whined high and tight in the back of his throat. Hannibal pressed his forehead to Will’s and rubbed his thumbs over Will’s temples gently.

 

"Will, I need you to breathe with me. Do you remember who you used to be?" Will nodded slowly, breath hitching before speeding and slowing erratically. 

 

"Will Graham. FBI... P-profiler. Taught? Taught school." He felt himself grow lightheaded as he continued to hyperventilate. "Fuck."

 

“Well your speech certainly seems to be coming back quicker." Hannibal said optimistically, continued to breathe with Will, guiding him slowly through the motions.

 

Will whimpered. "Hannibal Lecter?" He saw in his mind's eye Hannibal, as well dressed and put together as ever, stepping into a room. He could feel the oppressive presence of Jack beside him, and heard himself be introduced. "Met you." 

 

Suddenly a new vision came to his mind. A pendulum swung before his eyes and he was killing a young girl. He was killing an entire family. He was committing brutal murders. Will opened his eyes and only saw more pendulum swings, more brutal, bloody deaths. "Hannibal!" He cried out. "I c-" His breath was caught fast in his throat as it constricted, and he began to scratch furiously at his upper arm. He could feel the echoes of pain there, when this must have happened before. "Killed..."

 

Hannibal held Will closer, as tight as he could possibly hold him. 

 

"You never killed anyone William. You only thought you had. We have met before, yes. I consulted on a case with you. Shortly after, your mind could take no more violence, and you disappeared."

 

"Nnn. No, no. Hobbs. Hobbs." He saw a million different incarnations of the man's face. Zombified flesh and bloated eyes, freshly dead on a kitchen floor, leering at him from the dark.

 

“Garrett Jacob Hobbs is dead and gone, William."

 

"I killed him. I did kill him. I..." Will shook his head. "Fuck. Need... I need." He needed to focus. He needed something to bring him back to his body. Will remembered what he had used when he had panicked and seen things before the pack, when he had been helpless and alone, immobilized by nightmares and panic attacks.  _ I need something to hurt me. I need something to slice through this and pull me back, like it did before when I was working. I need pain.  _ Will’s breath began to steady itself immediately once he realized what it was he needed to feel better.  _ Pain will fix it up quickly. Pain fixes me. _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go scream at Dante for torturing Will like this- comrade-bootyshort.tumblr.com
> 
> plot with Cas about how to make Dante stop hurting his faves- cunningandfulloftricks.tumblr.com


	4. Cry to the Void

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will regains his memories, and with them, some of his awful coping mechanisms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we are sooooo sorry it took this long........ warning for graphic self harm

Will lurched up from where he sat.

"Will?" Hannibal's confused voice seemed to come from miles away. "Will, are you quite alright?" Will ignored him in favor of stumbling back through the house, back to the bathroom. Muscle memory guided him, his fumbling, shaky fingers locking the old door. He could hear that Hannibal had followed him, that he was just outside the door.

"Will?" His voice was urgent now, begging Will to respond. Will had completely tuned him out by then, nearly tearing the bathroom apart searching for what he now held in his trembling fingers.

Will usually shaved with disposable razors, but upon his father's death an old safety razor had been given to him. The shiny silver handle glinted at him, but that wasn't what he was after. He threw it aside and stared with undisguised need at the large rectangular blades, all sharper than any one of Will's fish filleting tools. He let all but one fall with a clatter to the sink and held the last up to examine for rust spots. He vaguely heard Hannibal pounding at the door, but it blended in with the sound of his fiercely racing heart. Slowly, he lowered the razor to the upper portion of his inner arm, where thin, white, nearly imperceptible lines graced it, and pressed down. Time seemed to slow as his skin dipped and a small bead of red welled around the corner of the razor. Will slipped the razor across his skin, cutting a seam in the center of his old scars. For a second, he saw the skin underneath, the bright pink, new, sensitive skin that he had just exposed. Then blood began to flow from the edges of the split skin and he watched, mesmerized, as it filled like a pool before spilling over and running warm down his arm. He raised his hand once more, placed the razor to his skin, and was beginning to press when suddenly his arm was knocked forcefully, causing him to drop the razor. He immediately dropped to the ground to find it, searching frantically, but was hauled to his feet by strong, steady hands. He whimpered, eyes catching on the blade, a beautiful red bead of his blood balanced on the razor edge, before he was hauled bodily from the bathroom. Hannibal's voice crooned at him and he yelled in return, momentary fury being quickly replaced by emptiness as he felt himself be surrounded by his dogs, his pack. Hannibal sank to his knees and examined the cut, seeming to not be bothered at all by the blood sluicing from the cut. He quickly looked over the cut and snatched up a blanket to soak up the blood, all the while with Will staring detachedly at the blood. He knew he had never cut that deep before, that he used to do that a lot, but with shallow lines across his skin instead. He used to be so afraid of scars. Thinking of what Jack would do if he saw them scared him even now. Hannibal finished mopping up the blood and pressed the blanket down on Will's cut.

"I'm going to get antiseptic and a bandage," Hannibal's voice echoed in his head. He nodded slowly, still gazing down at the blood, and it felt as though simultaneously an instant and an eternity later, Hannibal was back.

"This may sting," He warned, and sure enough the cold, sharp sting of the antiseptic being swabbed over his arm dragged him back to the present and suddenly everything was too much, so loud and hot and cramped and the stinging, making his entire arm throb, that had become the center of the universe for the moment. Hannibal smoothed a bandage on the cut and the universe re-centered, this time on the man who currently knelt by Will's feet, sleeves rolled up, working quickly to clean up the mess. He looked down at Hannibal, letting his memories fall into place, and felt a rush of emotion for this man who had so selflessly put his life aside to care for Will for the past few days. He extended a hand and touched Hannibal's face as gently as he could, letting his thumb brush along the other man's chiseled cheekbone. Will felt Hannibal's cheeks move as he smiled, and he let his eyes wander over Hannibal's face. He looked good smiling. His eyes crinkled, twinkling with something between fondness and slyness. His thin lips stretched over sharp, white teeth.

"Will?" Hannibal looked apprehensively up at him. He supposed that Hannibal was worried that he was having another moment like earlier.

"I like you. You're... a very good man." Will wasn't entirely sure how to say what he was feeling towards Hannibal at the moment, only that it was strong and that he couldn't ignore it. This man had done more for him in a few days than anyone had done for him in his entire life. "I feel like I should be repaying you," he added, slightly ruefully. He didn't know how, but he felt he had to find some way to thank Hannibal. Will shuffled through his mind, and found nothing on how to thank someone who had just spent nearly a week helping someone out of a half feral state. Of course, he thought. Since when did anyone know how to thank someone for that? Not like it was an everyday occurrence.

"Well, thank you Will. I can't say I am a good man, however. I am only human."

"You essentially saved my life."

"Anyone would have done this."

"Not even slightly true. Most people would have called the cops and then gotten the hell out of dodge. A naked feral man is not what most people want on their hands."

"Perhaps I am better suited, as a psychiatrist. I understand brains."

Will nodded thoughtfully.

"Maybe it was fate that we met," Hannibal suggested.

"Maybe," Will smiled in return.

**Author's Note:**

> Dante's tumblr- comrade-bootyshort.tumblr.com
> 
> Cas' tumblr- cunningandfulloftricks.tumblr.com


End file.
